As trustees prepare for final vote on March 4, village engineer fights back against rumors

Winnetka officials have given preliminary approval to the creation of a stormwater utility fee to pay for the village's ambitious $41 million flood control program even as the village's top engineer pushed back against what he said is erroneous information on the project being circulated within the community.

Trustees voted 4 to 0 during their Feb. 18 meeting to give preliminary approval to the creation of the stormwater utility fee and are scheduled to take a final vote on the matter during their regularly scheduled March 4 meeting.

The fee, which goes into effect in July, was developed with the assistance of the village's stormwater utility consultant, Municipal & Financial Services Group (MFSG) and is based on the amount of impervious surface on any given parcel of land in the village, according to the village.

The fee will be measured in Equivalent Runoff Units (ERUs). One unit is defined as equal to 3,400 square feet. MFSG has calculated that there are 6,613 ERUs in the village. Based on those numbers, on the outstanding debt, and on the revenue requirements for the new stormwater utility, the annual charge per ERU for fiscal year 2014 is $262, which translates into a monthly charge of $21.83 per ERU, the village said.

During the Feb. 18 meeting, Steven Saunders, Winnetka's director of public works, said work on the project is now under way, including construction at the Winnetka Avenue pump station.

"We were hoping to start a little earlier in the winter, but this has just been an untenable winter for construction," said Saunders.

He said that work started in early February, and that it is scheduled to be completed in June. He also said that part of the project is being done in phases so that at any given time at least two of the four pumps will be operational.

"It's kind of like repairing an airplane in mid flight," he said. "We'll keep two of the engines working while we're out on the wings working on the other two."

Saunders also took an opportunity during the meeting to address what he said is erroneous information about the project circulating in the village, especially regarding the Willow Road tunnel.

"The debate over the project must be fact based," Saunders told trustees. "There's unfortunately some erroneous information that's making its way into the discussion, and I want to correct some of these points so the right dialogue can occur."

"There are intelligent, thoughtful, well meaning people who support the project, and there are likewise intelligent, thoughtful, well meaning people who oppose the project," he added.

He said that one of the most egregious false statements he has heard is that if the Willow Road tunnel is built, 80 million pounds of toxic waste will be dumped onto the beach and washed into the lake during heavy rainfalls, a statement he dismissed as completely "erroneous."

"I think it's very important we set the record straight in this particular area," said Winnetka board President Gene Greable.

Another false rumor is that the Willow Road tunnel is sized to accommodate stormwater from more than 900 acres of unincorporated areas west of the village, in addition to the village's 1,200 acres, said Saunders.

"This is simply not true," he said. "The project is not and never has been designed to accommodate a 2,100-acre drainage area."

In addition, Saunders dismissed conjecture in the community that the project will add to water pollution problems at Elder Lane Beach. He said a 2011 report by the National Resources Defense Council indicated that the beach was the most frequently closed beach in Illinois based on bacteria related beach closures using 2010 data. But he added that it was subsequently discovered that 15 broken residential privately maintained sanitary sewer pipes allowed sewer to enter the stormwater system, as did two locations in the village system. These issues were repaired and during 2012 and 2013 and bacteria related beach closings at the beach decreased from an average of 31 days a year to an average of eight days a year, Saunders said.

He also addressed concerns from some in the community that green infrastructure, or stormwater best management practices, are not being considered as part of the mammoth public works project.

"This is not the case," he said. "These practices are an integral part of the proposed tunnel improvement. It's difficult to imagine meeting water quality standards and requirement without them."

"I will grant that some people both supportive of and opposed to the tunnel project have already made up their minds and are not interested in further fact-based dialogue about the merits, concerns, environmental impacts benefits and costs of the project," Saunders added. "This is unfortunate because I believe the rest of the village would benefit from gathering data developing details asking questions and examining all side of this issue before making a decision."

He also said the MWC Willow Road engineering contract recently awarded by the village is fashioned so information is developed in a "step wise fashion" with intermediate council review and discussion points before proceeding to subsequent steps.

"If anyone who has an open mind steps up and listens, they'll stop spewing things that are not true," said Trustee Jack Buck.